I want to add a second battery to my truck. how would i go about wiring it up? i normally drive with all my lights on; fogs, lo beams and my lights on my bull bar. on top with my sub thumpin pretty good. and with all my extra added lights its hurtin my battery. the volt guage is suppose to sit right at the half way point and if im sitting at a red light my voltage gets like 2 or even 3 needlew under the half way point. i know its running all my stuff because if i turn all my stuff of the volts are fine and it idles fine

 

My gauge reads below the center line too but I don't know if adding a second battery will help with that. If you want to have a second battery, kits are out there that allow you to piggyback two batteries. A larger altenator might be the better solution for you. Are you using a cap on your amp for the sub? If not, that is where I would start, especially if you notice your lights dimming in cadance with your sub.

 

wire a second battery in parallel, NOT series.

+1---+2---power to everything

neg1---neg2---ground

a capacitor will help if your lights flicker when the sub hits, but will only be able to do so much against the voltage dropping when you are at a long light.

 

MM,

The diesels come with two batts in them, they make a second mounting plate for the passenger side of the vehicle, and they run the wires over top of the radiator,a-c coil through the channel in the top. I'm sure you would have to modify the current setup because the engine compartment is configured different in the diesels, but it might be something to consider. I think the major problem is the stock air box, beyond that I'm not sure. If you're running a CAI, it may be a mute point.

 

More to it than that. You need a "gadget" to direct charging current to the appropriate battery. It's been forever since I read anything on that, but it's a bit complicated.

 

i would think the batteries would spread that out amongst each other if they are hooked up to each other.

 

yea it is a bit complicated because you have to isolate the batteries from each other. because what will happen is they will draw charge from each other sorta like a seesaw and then they both end up dead. at least that's how i've come to understand it.

mmstar before you invest in that try this for me. go to an audio store pick up a spool of 4 gauge wire and redo all the grounds from battery to engine and engine to chassis and alt to engine block or alt to chassis and redo the hot wire from alternator to battery. cheap fix and most likely will solve ur problem. by putting on beefier grounds and hot wires you can really unlock the potential the vehicles electrical system will have.

 

thanks for the input guys

im gonna get a cap and try a thicker guage for the alternator. i have so 4 guage wire left over from my amp install